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Blues latest

Hale storm

Birmingham City striker Ronan Hale scored the winner for Derry City in their Europa League qualifier second leg against Dinamo Minsk on Thursday evening, but the Candy Stripes bowed out of the competition after an aggregate defeat.

A 2-0 defeat in the first leg at Brandywell proved too much of a challenge to overcome, but Derry exited the Europa League fighting, something that was largely down to Hale’s late goal.

Belfast-born Hale, 19, spent the second half of Blues’ campaign last season on loan with the League of Ireland outfit and saw that loan extended until November of this year, to fit in with the end of Derry’s own season.

It was Hale’s eighth goal in 23 matches for the club, having come off the bench, but Derry couldn’t find that decisive third goal.

Ally Roy had given Kenny Shiels’ side an early lead, but they were pegged back when Aleksandr Sachivko equalised for the hosts in the first half.

Hale’s goal towards the end of the encounter, however, at least gave the hardy Derry following something to take away from their trip to Belarus.

Like a new signing

Ipswich Town received a substantial bid thought to be from Birmingham City for Bartosz Bialkowski - but the goalkeeper didn't want to leave.

Bialkowski put pen to paper on a three-year deal, with a further year's option, designed to stave off interest from Blues boss Garry Monk who had targeted the player as the answer to his goalkeeping conundrum.

Blues are currently in a state of limbo regarding that position as they have so far failed to move on either of their transfer-listed pair David Stockdale and Tomasz Kuszczak - and find themselves under financial restriction from the EFL.

The club remain tight-lipped about the exact nature of that situation and although they continue to identify targets and wanted to sign Bialkwoski - the fact they have only signed one player so far this summer - Kristian Pedersen - speaks volumes.

Ipswich were said to have turned down an offer of around £3m for Bialwoswki who recently returned from World Cup duty with Poland and boss Hurst said: “There was competition, as the owner’s said, and we did have a bid for him, a serious bid.

“But I always got the feeling, speaking to Bart without seeing him face to face with him being away at the World Cup, that he did like Ipswich. I never got a real sense that he really wanted to leave.

“Obviously, he nearly signed the contract [in January] but it didn’t quite happen, so there was a little bit of a hangover from that, but overall I got the feeling that he didn’t really want to go anywhere else.

“Thankfully, with the owner’s backing, we’ve managed to secure him on a long deal. He’s back in training, he feels good.

“In all honesty, I think he’s felt a bit better than he thought he would and we’ll be looking to involve him on Saturday.”

Hurst likened securing the stopper on an extended contract to making a new signing after Marcus Evans handed the club's three-time player of the year a pay rise. "It feels like that to me because there was a big sense that he may move on to a new part of his career, a new football club," he said.

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“Naturally you want to better yourself, whether that’s financially or otherwise. He’s 31, he’s probably got two contracts left in him and one when he’s in his prime.

“He’s very well respected and I was delighted when it came round and I think Marcus has to have a lot of credit there in terms of making Bart understand that he is valued.

“I’m delighted to get him on board and I’ll see him on Saturday for the first time in a game when I’m his manager.”

Monk left Stockdale and Kuszczak at home for the tour of Austria and Germany after ousting them from his plans but may be pressed into a reconsideration as the new campaign approaches.

Blues' opening Championship match at home to Norwich City is now little over two weeks away.

Stockdale had been targeted by his hometown club Leeds United, but after failing to come to an arrangement - the Whites turned elsewhere.

They confirmed the capture of Chelsea youngster Jamal Blackman on a season-long loan to challenge Bailey Peacock-Farrell for the first-team spot at Elland Road under new chief Marcelo Bielsa.